Poll code pushes Punjab's addicts to de-addiction centres

Life has become miserable for addicts in the Malwa region, Punjab’s drug capital. The number of walk-in patients at the de-addiction centre at Bathinda civil hospital has gone up from around 100 in February to 250 in April.

| TNN | Updated: Apr 25, 2014, 04:41 IST

CHANDIGARH: Drug addicts are the worst hit by the Election Commission's model code of conduct for the April 30 polls in Punjab. De-addiction centres across the state are seeing a surge in the number of patients as the poppy husk supply from Rajasthan dried up after the code came into force. With cops keeping a vigil on the border with Rajasthan, rural Punjab's favourite dope has vanished from the market. Life has become miserable for addicts in the Malwa region, Punjab’s drug capital. The number of walk-in patients at the de-addiction centre at Bathinda civil hospital has gone up from around 100 in February to 250 in April.

At the Sangrur centre, 33 patients were treated in February. In March, it rose to 52 and in the first 24 days of April, 62 people underwent treatment.

"Earlier, poppy husk was available for Rs 1,000- Rs 1,500 per kg but now whatever is available costs over Rs 4,000 a kg," said a patient.

At the Guru Nanak Mission Hospital at Dhahan Kaleran in Nawanshahr district, the number of addicts seeking treatment has gone up to 217 in March. This month, it has already touched 196 against 180 in February, said Dr Rupinder Kapoor, psychiatrist and de-addiction expert at the centre. It also registered a rise in resident patients’ number in March (21) and April (28) against 19 in February.

"There's an increase in patients in the past two months and most have already gone through withdrawal symptoms," Dr Kapoor said.

In Patiala, the Red Cross Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for Addicts — southern Punjab’s largest centre — has seen an increase in patients from 30 in February to 48 in March.

"The spurt was largely due to unavailability of various drugs which are not available due to strict enforcement of the poll code,” said Parvinder Kaur Manchanda, project director, Red Cross programme.

In Ludhiana, Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital gets at least 200 patients a day now against 100-150 in February.

'Legalise drugs for addicts'

Independent candidate from Ludhiana Rajiv Kalra had said he’d lobby for the opening of government authorized vends for selling poppy husk. Claiming he wasn't supporting the use of drugs, the 42-year-old said he was only trying to deal with the issue in a "more realistic manner". Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan licensed shops sell opium, he said. Following his statement, the EC issued a show-cause notice to him.

MP for poppy husk vends

Shiromani Akali Dal’s Faridkot MP Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, during her poll campaign, recently told villagers in Jaitu she had recently urged the Punjab government to open vends for poppy husk in Punjab. "Since there is a lot of demand to make poppy husk available to villagers legally, I have urged CM Parkash Singh Badal to look into the demand," Gulshan said. Poppy husk is commonly known as bhukki in the state.

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